How do Munich startups work? What tips can individual employees give to other teams? We asked ourselves and, of course, some startups. Christian Holzapfel, Communications Manager at the digital Construction equipment rental company Klarx, answered our questions.
Munich Startup: What is your morning routine?
Christian Holzapfel from Klarx: What every day has in common is that the first thing I do when I get home is check the news of the day. I do this for general news as well as construction and startup news. Then I know what's going on for the day, and my initial curiosity is satisfied. This is important because in the office, I always start with a larger task that requires my concentration. This is followed by the team huddle, and only then come the emails, which usually cause quite a distraction.
In the office: Always start with a bigger task
Munich Startup: What is your favorite work tool?
Christian Holzapfel from Klarx: As boring as it sounds, G Suite brings together all the information and work results that are important to me. It's a great way to advance topics as a team, even remotely.
Munich Startup: Which three apps are indispensable?
Christian Holzapfel from Klarx: Slack, Trello and Twitter (but only as a personalized news feed).
Good reading for communication professionals
Munich Startup: Which Munich event is a must?
Christian Holzapfel from Klarx: The highlight, of course, is Bits & Pretzels. From a PR perspective, it simply offers a fantastic mix of input and networking. But honestly, I attend very few events of this kind. With digital construction equipment rental, we operate in a very traditional B2B market. I focus heavily on attending industry events related to construction and construction equipment. I highly recommend everyone to be as close to the customer and their industry as possible. Admittedly, this is much easier with a B2B product than in B2C.
Munich Startup: Which book do you recommend to other communications professionals?
Christian Holzapfel from Klarx: There's already a very established canon in the startup scene. I have nothing to add to that. For PR professionals, however, I can recommend "Auch Deutsche unter den Opfern" (Germans Among the Victims, Too) by Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre. He's a brilliant observer and simply tells good stories. And that should be the goal of a good PR professional. If you still need some tools, I recommend this. Magazine “Press Officer” of the Federal Association of Communicators (BdKom), who always provide good input for PR work.
Meetings with 100 people?
Munich Startup: What is your favorite type of meeting?
Christian Holzapfel from Klarx: Form follows function: I don't really care whether we meet face-to-face, sitting down, standing up, or via web conference. I like meetings when it's clear why someone is meeting, for how long, and what a good outcome will be. At the beginning, it was certainly fun to let your ideas flow with the founders and let them vent their ideas on a whiteboard. But even three years ago, with ten employees, we only did this with a clear goal in mind.
Now, with almost 100 employees, you have to discipline yourself to ensure that meetings don't become too frequent or too long. It's important to still maintain a constant flow of information. But that's why there's Slack, lunches, or an after-work beer.
Pitfalls: Poor agreements and ad hoc requests
Munich Startup: What is your biggest stumbling block in your daily business?
Christian Holzapfel from Klarx: Poor coordination and ad-hoc requests. Both of these things lead to a situation where, at the end of some days, you've accomplished a lot, but not what you originally intended. For me personally, this is largely driven by my curiosity. That's why discipline with emails and clear tasks that you write down for the day are really important for maintaining focus.
Munich Startup: What is your motivation booster in your everyday work life?
Christian Holzapfel from Klarx: Knowing that the whole team is pulling together is already very motivating at work. When I notice early in the day that I'm making good progress, it gives me an extra boost. But that always depends heavily on which conditions from the previous question are met.
Munich Startup: How do you end your working day?
Christian Holzapfel from Klarx: Usually with an email that I promised someone by that day at the latest.
